SPAR retailers celebrate excellence at A.F. Blakemore SRS24 awards

A.F. Blakemore, one of the UK’s largest privately owned family businesses and wholesaler for SPAR stores in Wales, Central and South East England, held its annual 2024 SPAR Retail Show (SRS24) Awards at Telford International Centre on Thursday 13th June, with over 1,300 people attending the glittering gala dinner and awards evening.

The prestigious event brought together SPAR retailers from SPAR’s Meridian & Welsh Guild to celebrate exceptional achievements and innovation in the convenience sector.

The SRS24 Awards event is a cornerstone of A.F. Blakemore’s commitment to recognise and celebrate excellence of independent SPAR retailers who have demonstrated outstanding performance, customer service and innovation over the past year. The evening featured a variety of awards including Best Store Team, Best Business Initiative and the Raj Aggarwal Community Engagement Award.

Hosted by comedian, actor Josh Widdicombe, the event also raised funds for Marie Curie, Disability Sport Wales and The Blakemore Foundation.

“We are thrilled to recognise and celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of our independent SPAR retailers,” said Carol Welch, Chief Executive Officer at A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd. “These awards highlight the dedication, passion and hard work of our SPAR retailers who are not only setting the bar for excellence in convenience but also driving the industry forward with their innovative approaches and unwavering commitment to their local communities.”

This year’s standout winners included:

Baldwin Cup Winner: Jenny Donaghy, SPAR Llandrinio. The Baldwin Cup is awarded to one SPAR retailer every year and celebrates the very best stores across the Meridian & Welsh Guild region. Jenny Donaghy and her team at SPAR Llandrinio are passionate and innovative retailers exemplifying the brand values of SPAR. They continue to invest and innovate to reflect emerging trends and deliver consistent high standards.

The Big Investment Winner: Dyfed and Alison Thomas, SPAR Llandyssul. This enormous prize will be invested in a full store refresh as Alison and Dyfed look to introduce a number of exciting initiatives and retail technology features into the store.

Best Business Initiative Winner: Tristan King, King Family Stores. Tristan and the team have analysed their stores and looked at their customer base to fully understand where sales opportunities lay or how to reduce costs. This initiative has paid off and the store has not only grown sales but decreased waste too.

Best Store Team Winner: Hash & Chan Shingadia, SPAR Upper Bucklebury. Hash & Chan celebrate 25 years of trading this year. The couple have given a huge number of hours to volunteering and charitable events over the years.

Raj Aggarwal Community Engagement Award Winner: SPAR Western Downs.

The team at SPAR Western Downs are fully engaged with their local community by taking part in cake sales, egg hunts, prize giveaways, raffle and festivals. Local foodbanks and churches are supported with donations and Julian Taylor-Green even ran the 2024 London Marathon for Marie Curie. This team really are there for their community.

Other prize winners included:

• Best licenses supplier of the year: Vape Supplier Limited
• Best frozen/fresh supplier of the year: The Compleat Food Group
• Best grocery supplier of the year: Pladis
• Best impulse supplier of the year: Congo
• Best Marketing partner award: Walkers

For more information, visit www.afblakemore.com